Cyber Tiger
Cyber Tigerby Electronic Arts
Platform: PlayStation
ESRB Rating: Everyone
ASIN: B00002R1ID
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Product Description: If you've watched Tiger Woods's awe-inspiring performances on the fairway and wondered what it might be like to walk in his shoes, here's your chance. CyberTiger balances all of the realistic graphic detail of a golf simulation with arcade-like gameplay that'll have any virtual golfer sinking Tiger's impossible shots before long.
Golfers can go on tour or play a match or tournament game on several PGA courses, as well as fantasy courses with wild obstacles. As golfers' skills progress, hidden characters, special abilities, and trick shots unlock, offering new challenges. A one-button swing feature offers rookies an easy way to nail 200-yard shots and soft 20-inch putts from the very first tee.
Tiger Woods' signature smooth swings and idiosyncrasies were motion-captured for the game, providing realistic animations. A variety of PGA pros--male and female--are available, as well as a create-a-golfer feature that lets players build a virtual rival for Tiger Woods. --Eric Twelker
GameSpot Review: The single most obvious characteristic you'll discover within the first five minutes of playing CyberTiger was that if the game had come out before Hot Shots Golf or even before Mario Golf, it might have been more impressive. But because it arrives well after the original fantasy golf train had pulled in, concessions really can't be made for ingenuity, and the game must stand on gameplay, graphics, sound, and value alone. It stands. But it certainly doesn't do much walking. There are several play modes found within two main areas: single games and a career mode. The single mode offers more options, including stroke matches, skins, foursomes, tournament, four ball, shoot-out, range, and practice. The career mode lets you work your way up from the junior tour to the amateurs to the pros with one character at a time. (There are seven characters total, with six of them playable in their kid, teenager, and adult incarnations). The play modes don't really introduce many new concepts to the golf-game arena. The stroke match is exactly that, the tournament mode is exactly that, the skins... and so on. What the game delivers is the concept of power-ups (and not just extending your stroke) and driving-range target practice - both of which are interconnected. In career mode, you can work your way through a 360-degree driving range (which is actually functional in only about 180 degrees), where you line up shots to hit the targets placed around the course. If you hit them, you'll earn power-ups such as a gumball, which prevents your ball from bouncing or rolling once it hits the ground; a power ball, which travels twice as far as the regular ball: an eyeball, which travels in a perfectly straight line; a superball, which, as the name implies, has an extraordinary bounce; and a few others. These items add to the gameplay in the same way the power-ups in Crave's Milo's Astro Lanes on the N64 added to that title's gameplay - they didn't save the game, but they made a somewhat dull or average experience a little better.
The CyberTiger graphics have clearly attempted to ape the Mario Golf/Hot Shots Golf style, with less originality, and, frankly, less of the beauty. The interface is interesting - it includes all the basic features you need in a video golf game - whether it be a golf sim or a fantasy golf game. You have a swing meter, a distance indicator, terrain-height indicators, club choice, and so forth. Yet what seems to have happened in CyberTiger is that in arranging and rearranging these features on the screen to give the game an identity apart from the other games out there, the intuitive interface has been lost. Of course, if you play a lot of golf games, you'll figure it out pretty quickly, but the novice may find himself abuzz in all the numbers and meters that seem poorly placed, as compared to those in other fantasy golf titles. And novices are, after all, whom these games are trying to appeal to, right? The audio is another CyberTiger breakdown. It's neither catchy nor interesting, but rather bland and nondescript. The sounds are cut off prematurely and are mostly inaudible, if you care to hear what's being said in the first place. And if Mario Golf could handle audio on the N64.... CyberTiger does show in its controls. The stroke meter is responsive, and the ability to control the ball's spin in midair is a nice benefit. The multiplayer adds to what is essentially a pretty prosaic experience, although it's not enough to pull the overall score higher. Perhaps EA can drag some more excitement into the game for the N64 version of the game, which is expected later this year. There's just something to be said for atmosphere in golf games. If you're playing a sim, well, you expect it to feel like a real golf course. If you're playing fantasy golf, it should feel more playful... less traditional.
CyberTiger seems to be lost somewhere in between, not sure of what it wants to be. It's not Tiger Woods '99, and it's certainly not Hot Shots, so if you fall somewhere in between the two, you might like the game. Otherwise, hold out for Hot Shots Golf 2 or Tiger Woods 2000.--Lauren Fielder
Customer Reviews:
slow, February 8, 2000
Reviewer: A gamer from minesota
tiger woods has to make a golf game that you can play in less then a hour, this game takes an hour and a half for two people to finish a round
WASTE OF $, January 25, 2000
Reviewer: A gamer from NYC, New York
Boooooring!That is the one word that comes to mind. They should have spent more money developing a decent game than spending so much on marketing the game. The courses were boring, the graphics were sub par and the sound effects are terrible. Not even worth a rental.
sleeper, December 30, 1999
Reviewer: A gamer from Nodak
CyberTiger has no excitement. I was expecting booming tee shots and Tiger's excitement in golf, but this game has put me to sleep! Graphics aren't bad, but the excitement in the game isn't there.
don't waste your money, December 21, 1999
Reviewer: A gamer from Chicago,Illinois
This game looked promising however it was disappointing. Very similar to Tiger Woods 99 which I own. Not enough golfers to begin with and what would have made sense since this is a game geared for kids why didn't they create as minature golf course, now that would have been a cool twisted. One feature I did like is the "contour screen" showing the dips and slopes of the green or course. That made it easier to lineup the shots an gauge the amount of power was neccesary. Worth a rental, but even bored my 7 year old son.
Not as good as the first Tiger, November 16, 1999
Reviewer: A gamer from Norman, Oklahoma
This game is decent. However, it seems to be developed for a younger player. Those that enjoyed Tiger '99 will not find this game as exciting or challenging. (Not that the '99 was very challenging), but this game lacks even the skill used to dominate in '99. New courses always excite a player, but in this version it is not worth it. The career mode is kind of cool, but the overall play is about the same, wait for Tiger to grow up another year before purchasing a game he endorses.